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Travel Shot: Art, music and stained glass

The Gloucester Cathedral is one of the most beautiful and fascinating place of worship that I have been to. A fine example of English cathedral design, it is home to about 400 memorials and some of the most beautiful stained glass windows I have seen.

I was particularly taken in by the variety and different styles of the stained glass windows, which range in age from the 14th to the 20th century. But the one stained glass window that caught my attention was the Herbert Howells memorial window.

The Herbert Howells memorial window at the Gloucester Cathedral by Caroline Swash

Herbert Howells was an English composer and organist known for his Anglican church music. His greatest known work is the Hymnus Paradisi, which was completed, orchestrated and performed for the first time in 1950 at the Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester. The Herbert Howells memorial window, which illustrates his music, was done by Caroline Swash in 1992.

I had not heard of Herbert Howells or his music till my visit to Gloucester Cathedral. And I couldn’t have asked for a more creative introduction to his work through this memorial window at the Cathedral.

I love it when I stumble across creativity that blends together two or three different art forms so effortlessly. And when music, which is a passion for me, is involved and that too like this it is like… heaven :-D

If you love stained glass, Paris is the place to be… The Notre Dame alone can occupy hours of your time… Please let me know if you make plans to go there. I have been there once, for a day and a half and one of the things on my bucket list is to go back to the City of Lights and take my time absorbing it. Going with a travel buff and writer like you would only enhance the experience.